Nunn Will Swim Marathon around Manhattan

Abigail Nunn. (photo by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity)

Mar 27, 2012

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Yale senior Abigail Nunn has already competed in her last meet as a Bulldog, but her swimming career is not over yet. On June 23 Nunn will compete in the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, a 28.5-mile race around the island of Manhattan in New York, N.Y. A total of 43 solo swimmers, seven relays and one team pursuit relay will take to the waterways surrounding the Big Apple for what has been named one of the World's 100 Top Open Water Swims.

At Yale Nunn competed in primarily distance events, namely the 1650-, 1000- and 500-yard freestyle. In her own time Nunn has competed extensively in open water swimming events, with wins including the nearby Madison Mile in Madison, Conn., and the Greenwich Island Beach 2-Mile Swim in Greenwich, Conn. She also owns the fastest 1-mile and 2-mile times for any female competitor at the Chris Greene Lake Swim in Charlottesville, Va., not far from her home in Richmond. Nunn was also victorious overall in her first marathon swim, the 2010 Swim Around Key West in Florida.

In last year's Manhattan Island Marathon another young female swimmer named Erica Rose got herself a lead early and went on to win the entire contest. The 28-year-old traversed the course in the time of 7 hours, 29 minutes and 46 seconds to finish first overall, including ahead of the top male finisher. Nunn could be this year's Erica Rose, but as a fresh face at this competition she will still be going up against a number of veteran open water swimmers, including Javier Gutierrez and Darren Miller, both of whom have completed swims across the English Channel.

As Nunn leaves Yale, another open water swimmer is on her way to New Haven to take her place. Eva Fabian (Keene, N.H.) was recruited by Robert J.H. Kiphuth Head Coach Cristina Teuscher as part of the Class of 2015 but she chose to defer for one year to try to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. Fabian finished 30th in the 10k event at the 2011 FINA Open Water World Championships over the summer, falling short of qualification, but will have another opportunity on Apr. 27 at the 2012 Open Water National Championships in Fort Myers, Fla. If she places in the top two in Fort Myers, she will go on to represent the U.S. on June 9 in Setubal, Portugal, where the top person from each country will make it to the Olympics. Most recently Fabian raced and won the 10k event at the 2012 Marathon Swimming World Cup in Patagones-Viedma, Argentina on Feb. 4. Fabian posted the top time of 2 hours, 2 minutes and 8.11 seconds at the second stop on the eight-leg Marathon Cup circuit.